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Code of ethics and behavior
How important ethics are to an organization
Introduction to code of ethics
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Ethical structures
The area of “ethical structures” is intended to support organizations’ ethical concerns across organizations. There is a need for ethical structures that surround the modes in which organizations strive to inculcate corporate and business ethics. Without them there are no supports in place to create ethical processes and evaluate ethical performance. This area serves as a support that the organization and its staff should be able to relate to at the strategic, tactical and operational levels of business practices. It is a point of reference to other stakeholders in the marketplace and society.
The area of “ethical structures” consists of the following sub-areas:
1. Code of ethics- Studies have found that having an ethical
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Ethics committee- The development of ethics committes is an essential structure recommended by a number of authors (Center for Business Ethics, 1986; Wood, 2002), and as such they have been incorporated by organizations in many countries (Wood et al., 2004) and it is believed that they may support the development, management and monitoring of ethical business practices across organizations.
5. Ethics training committee- Such a committee can provide a fruitful environment in which staff can engage in discussion and have education in ethics in situations that they might face whilst in the organization’s employ (Laczniak and Murphy, 1991; Rampersad, 2003; Schwartz, 2002; Trevino and Brown, 2004)
6. The support to whistle-blowers. If organizations are to evolve into ethical entities with ethical business practices, individuals must take both individual and collective action to change the business practices that they see may be an antithesis to the ethical health of the organization. Someone must make the move to expose violations of the organization’s ethical principles. Formal guidelines to support whistle blowers should be considered, because if standards are to be set then one needs ways to ensure that either violations or breaches will be reported, reviewed and corrected (Wood, 2002)
Ethical
The Business Ethics and Leadership Alliance formed in 2008. The goal of BELA is to create a set of standards that group members adopt in order to prevent ethics violations. Consequently, alliance members are required to conform to BELA’s legal, transparency, conflict identification, and accountability standards. The goal is to increase the positive reputation of businesses by meeting ethical and social responsibilities. While some see the alliance as a positive step for organizations, others see another façade to pacify an angry public. BELA’s values and enforcement of compliance remains to be tested in a macro environment of mistrust.
Therefore, the board should discuss electing an ethics chairman, who would form a committee, and then make recommendations on how to develop a more beneficial ethics policy. In order to know what to incorporate into the policy, an internal ethical audit could be conducted using the guidelines set forth by the Better Business Bureau, which lists detailed information on ethical practices of leadership, ethical communication practices, organizational leadership practices, performance management commitment, ethical human resources commitment, in addition to commitment to the community (Better Business Bureau, 2017). In addition, goals should be established in all areas, along with a means of establishing integrity (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2013).
According to Ferrell (2004), “Organizations create ethical or unethical corporate cultures based on leadership and the commitment to values that stress the importance of stakeholder relationships. Establishing and implementing a strategic approach to improving organizational ethics is based on establishing, communicating, and monitoring ethical values and legal requirements that characterize the firm's history, culture, and operating environment” (p. 129). Ethics programs ensure satisfactory relationships with all stakeholders by aligning with all of their demands and needs, and determine conduct with customers and relationships with regulators, shareholders, suppliers, and employees (Ferrell, 2004).
The importance of having a code of ethics is to define acceptable behaviors and promote higher standards of practice within a company. The code should provide a benchmark for...
Under what conditions, if any, is whistle-blowing morally permissible? ¬¬¬ ______________________________________________________________ This paper intends to identify any conditions where whistle blowing is morally permissible. Whistle blowing is commonly understood to be a public scale investigation, stipulated by either former or current employees predetermined to raise serious civil concerns, and in the process, publicly disclose illegitimate practices that resolve with the organisations effectively changing defective policy’s or products.
First of all, the individuals who are most responsible for a company’s ethics are found at the top of the company. In traditional company structures, more responsibility and power is allotted to people who are higher up the pyramid. The members with the most power are managers, executives,
Whistle blowing has often been viewed as a negative connotation to describe someone who chooses to unveil facts or practices in an organization, be it federal, public, private, or non-profit, in order to make known these evidences to the public or governing authority. It has only been fairly recently in history that whistle blowing has started to be seen as a positive entity that exists to hold organizations accountable for the choices they make. “Whistleblowers are people who decide to report unethical or illegal activities, usually activities under the control of their employers” (Halbert and Ingulli, 2012). The antithetical to a whistleblower would be someone who does not to report an illegal activity or an unethical practice, but decides
To provide an example of a breach of ethical conduct in the workplace, we may remember the case of a financial manager in a corporation that decided not to pay overtime to some employees. After a deep outside investigation, the company was summoned with thousands of dollars to remedy the payment that was supposed to be paid to all employees who worked more than forty hours per week. Again, it is needed more than just a booklet stating that the company adheres to the code of business ethics. It is needed serious managers that can run the company with the most seriousness as possible. Consequently, any written codes of business ethics, regardless of how well it has been crafted, need people that adhere to its internal content with a serious desire to do the right thing.
There are many reasons that people decide to become whistleblowers on a company. A person may know laws are being broken, or that organizations are ignoring dangerous acts. Some whistleblowers are people that investigate organizations, and inform others of the unethical acts because others are afraid to speak out. Laws have been formed throughout the years to aid in improved protection for whistleblowers, and reassure them that reporting unethical acts to the proper authorities will not result in retaliation (Hastings, 2015).
Whistle blowing refers to the act of organization members, either former or current, disclosing information on illegal and unethical practices within the organization to parties internal or external to the organization, who can take action. It is becoming increasingly common as more and more employees speak out about their ethical concerns. It cannot be denied that whistleblowing is accompanied by a range of problems, for both the whistleblower and the organization. However, it can be argued that whistleblowing is an important and valid method of endeavoring to control possible unethical behavior by organizations, as well as helping to establish a level of social responsibility. For these reasons, it is important for society to maintain a level
Ethics in business is a highly important concept, as it can affect a company’s profits, salaries paid to employees and CEOs, and public opinion, among many other aspects of a business. Ethics can be enforced by company policies and guidelines, set a precedent when a company is faced with an important decision, and are also evolving thanks to new technology and situations that arise due to technology usage. Businesses have a duty to maintain their ethical responsibilities and also to help their employees enforce these responsibilities in and out of the workplace. However, ethics and the foundation for them are not always black and white. There are many different ethical theories, however Utilitarianism, Kant’s Deontological ethics, and Virtue ethics are three of the most well known theories in existence. Each theory is distinct in that it has a different quality used to determine ethicality and allows for a person to choose which system of ethics works best with both the situation and his or her personal ethical preferences.
Although Hollate introduced a compliance program and code of conduct when it went public, the programs were put on “the back burner”. This outcome is not surprised for that the company does not pay attention to the programs. It is, therefore, important to “reinforce the values” and “employee a boundary system when actions are inconsistent with the code of conduct” for the purpose of early detection. Tyco provides a good example after its scandal, by initiating “mandatory annual compliance training for all its employees worldwide” and creating the Tyco Guide to Ethical Conduct to familiarize employees with company expectations and help them make ethical decisions. As tips is the most useful method for internal and external sources to detect frauds, the whistleblower hotline should be well communicated with encouragement on reporting any suspicious activity. In addition, to improve the effectiveness of the compliance program and code of conducts, Hollate should implement management monitoring and evaluation on a regular
Stead, W. E., Worrell, D. L., & Stead, J. G. (1990). An integrative model for understanding and managing ethical behavior in business organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 9(3), 233-242. Doi: 10.1007/BF00382649
In the business world there are many fundamental aspects and situations that can lead to several issues. In order to find an optimal and professional solution, business decision makers need to apply moral and ethical standards. And it is at that moment in which business ethics perform its role. Business ethics, which is in charge of examine how companies and individuals should act in business situations, is very essential in order to reach a common agreement and to work within the laws of business and solve an arisen dilemma. Working of the hand of ethical business companies, employees, investors, directors, and even individual officers can be beneficiated and obtain most favorable outcomes.
Ethics is central for any organization in treating employees fairly and helping the organization advance its mission. There is no single best way for dealing with ethical challenges, but it is very important for managers to develop ethical policies and procedures for implementation. To minimize possible unethical decisions by staff members, it is important to incorporate written standards grounded in organizational values in the code of conduct.